1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fuels for the production of heat. More particularly this invention relates to an aluminothermic reaction mixture consisting essentially of aluminum, iron oxide and a bonding agent selected to lower the ignition temperature of pressed thermite pellets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In aviation fuel fires that engulf military aircraft, a primary source of damage and spreading of fire is the violent detonation of bombs, warheads, and rocket motors. Devices containing thermite mixtures have been used to breech the case sidewalls when exposed to fuel fires to prevent excessive pressure and explosions, by burning vent-holes in the side of the ordnance and allowing the propellant to vent-off through the resulting holes rather than allowing the ordnance to detonate. For this and similar applications, the thermite mixtures must be pressed into a useful shape such as a pellet and attached to the case walls of the ordnance. Pellets pressed from conventional thermite mixtures have an autoignition temperature that is too high for quick response to an aviation fuel fire. Sometimes the propellants in the ordnance will explode before the thermite has ignited and vented the case sidewall. Additionally conventional thermite mixtures have low tensile strength. Low tensile strength is undesirable for pellets subjected to thermal cycling over the designed operating temperature range of the ordnance. The physical properties of thermite pellets, however, can be enhanced by compacting the pellets in fabricated metal sponge or by the addition of fluorocarbon polymers to the mixture. The major drawback of these techniques is they are too costly.